I am proud to be a windrush grandchild 🇯🇲. I grew up in the 80’s in a British-Jamaican family in what was a very white Hertfordshire, as you can tell by my face, it was a mixed bag.

I used to have a complex relationship with my name, as I was born when Vauxhall Nova’s were all the rage. And. Well, kids can be cruel.

It’s since grown on me.

I miss mixtapes and now have to settle for Spotify playlists.

In another life I think I would have been a professional athlete. But after about 9 years, my dance teacher convinced me to ditch it and focus on professional dance instead. I learned so much about failure, focus, discipline, trying again, community and grace as a young athlete. I was also fast in the 100 metres. Fellow competitors used to groan “oh no, Nova’s here” when I arrived at the starting blocks. I didn’t enjoy running anything further than that though.

Winter training and having to run outside, in the snow, was a total deal breaker for my Afro-Caribbean genes.

The dancing bug got me in the 80’s.